There’s a COWamongus!

Retail Promotion students help spread the word about campus eatery.

The new Texas-themed decor of Cowamongus! was designed by students in the Department
of Nutrition, Hospitality & Retailing as part of a class project.

Finding COWamongus! on campus is nearly as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack.
COWamongus! is a creamery and meat company located inside the Animal and Food Sciences building.
However, not many know it exists, due to campus regulations on signage and no advertising
budget.
To help with marketing efforts for the eatery, a partnership has been formed between
COWamongus! and a retail promotion class in the Department of Nutrition, Hospitality & Retailing in the College of Human Sciences.
“COWamongus! opened its doors more than three years ago but 80 percent of the campus
doesn’t know it’s there. Without being able to put a sign on the building, this is
a way to help solve that problem,” said class professor Valerie Hlavaty. “The restaurant
gets free promotion, and my students get hands-on experience in advertising, event
planning and promotion.”
Different groups of students in the class received different assignments. Some gave
out samples of ice cream and meat to passersby at the Student Union Building. Another
group created the visual design of the décor in the restaurant. Others worked to
develop newspaper advertisements, design a catering menu and plan basketball tailgating
events.
COWamongus! manager Kim Cannon is excited for the students and the assistance they
give to the operation.
“When they come in and present their ideas to me in class, they get so excited because
I’m actually using their ideas in the store,” said Cannon. “We don’t have a marketing
person, so I’m trying to run the store, do payroll, do marketing, make sure everything
is going smoothly and their ideas really do help me with the marketing aspect.”
COWamongus! makes its own ice cream, but it also is a retail center for meats produced
and processed in Texas Tech’s meat lab. And with more than one product to sell, many
marketing ideas are needed to make the business successful.
“We tell them that this is definitely something they can put on a resume.” Hlavaty
said. “You can’t get that from a book.”

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COWamongus!
Students receive first-hand advertising and marketing experience.
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